After Anthrax Scientist's Threats, Counselor Faced a Hard Choice

She married, had a son in 1993 and decided to get sober by moving into a halfway house in Montgomery County for 18 months. She would marry and divorce again, and relapse and recover. In 2000, she began classes at Frederick Community College and studied to become an addictions counselor.

Duley said her house was always a crash pad for people trying to get sober or straighten out their lives, "every stray there was," which is why she chose to work with people with addictions.

But she was not free herself. In 2007, the same year she graduated from Hood College with a four-year degree in social work, she was charged with DUI again and sentenced to two years of probation.

In January, Duley was hired by Comprehensive Counseling Associates in Frederick to launch a program that used the drug suboxone to treat people addicted to painkillers. She would not describe her interaction with Ivins, but during the restraining-order hearing she said she saw him once a week for group therapy and every other week on an individual basis.

Ivins was abusing vodka, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, according to a fellow scientist who is in recovery from addiction. The scientist told a Washington Post reporter that he was in contact with Ivins through Ivins's two stints in psychiatric and detox facilities this spring.

Ivins's psychiatric problems and homicidal threats predated Duley, according to a counselor who saw Ivins for four or five sessions in 2000 at the same Frederick clinic. In an interview with The Post last week, the counselor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the scientist was obsessed with a young woman and had "mixed poison" that he brought when he went to watch her play a soccer game. The counselor contacted the Frederick police but was told that unless Ivins had provided the full name of his intended victim, there was little that could be done.

The psychiatrist who owns Comprehensive Counseling Associates, Allan Levy, refused to comment on the case, according to his attorney, J. Eric Rhoades.

Duley said she no longer works at the clinic; she would not discuss her reasons for leaving.

She has a new counseling job lined up and will start when she is able. She has kept busy spending time with family and going to 12-step meetings.

Duley said she thought about attending Ivins's memorial service last week at Fort Detrick. "It's complicated," she said, her eyes filling with tears. But she stayed away.

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.